The Diabolical
by phantomdare1
Summary: Sora embarks on another journey to see new worlds that have appeared on the map. Mickey fears that the Heartless will take refuge in these new worlds and tells him to find the Keyholes. However, their mission goes awry when Sora forgets his seatbelt. -discontinued-
1. The Other Worlds

To somehow ease my boredom, I decided to create another story, this time with Kingdom Hearts and a mix of other non-Disney shows. This is the first of the series. The story takes place a few months after KHII when Sora and Riku receive Mickey's letter, and one month after Chapter 201 of -man (I've disregarded Ch 202 and will break off from there). I decided to begin with -Man, with little reason why...

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix, and -Man belongs to Hoshino Katsura. This applies to all chapters of the story.

**The Diabolical**

**Chapter 01 – The Other Worlds**

* * *

_"More worlds?" Sora asked. He really didn't like the sound of this._

_Mickey nodded. "I apologize for telling you this too late, but we will have to postpone the Mark of Mastery exams. Leon had just called in to alert us about it, and we are afraid that these worlds are in grave danger."_

"_What's happening to them?" Riku asked._

"_I suspect that Heartless are taking refuge in these new worlds, and we need to purge them as soon as possible before any havoc can occur."_

"_We will look to them as quickly as possible, King Mickey," Riku nodded._

"_Thank you," Mickey bowed his head, but shifted his gaze to all four subjects. "However, you will encountered different environments. I'm not sure if these worlds are safe for road trips, but the people there might not be friendly with you as the ones in my kingdom here. These worlds are out of my jurisdiction. So, you might have to be careful with dealing with people."_

_Sora and Riku nodded, with Goofy and Donald following._

"_But, since the both of you are 'trainees,'" Mickey smiled. "I grant you access to all areas of the Disney Castle and Gummi ships."_

"_Awesome!" Sora pumped his fists in the air, and Donald gave the boy a disapproving gaze. Mickey chuckled at the enthusiasm. He glanced at the clock, and leapt off his throne and onto the long crimson carpet._

"_I'll have to take my leave immediately," Mickey walked towards the doors of throne room. "We can't stand around idly while worlds are in danger of being consumed."_

_The four of them were left in silence as the door shut on them. Donald sighed again, his hands falling to his sides._

"_Another adventure… again…"_

"_Aw, cheer up, Donald!" Sora patted the duck on the back. "You enjoyed the worlds we visited last time."_

"_Speak for yourself," Donald folded his arms. "Goofy and I had to hound you all over the place like a mom chasing her kid in a zoo. You call that enjoyable?"_

"_Hey, I'm sixteen already!" Sora frowned. "You don't have be that overprotective!"_

"_Hmph," Riku smirked. "Remember when you got lost on the last day of school's field trip to the city? You sure bawled your eyes out."_

"_Now who said I was 'bawling?'" Sora attempted a punch at Riku's shoulder, but was evaded. More laughing and petty arguments continued, until Donald realized how much time they wasted._

"_Come on!" Donald impatiently pointed at the door. "We can't keep the King waiting forever!"_

* * *

"Donald, let me take the wheel," Sora pleaded. "I took driving lessons back at home."

"That's different!" the duck shouted. "A car is totally different from a Gummi ship! No! You will not drive!"

"Aww, give him some slack, Donald," Goofy grinned sheepishly, as usual. "Sora hasn't crashed the ship ever since we went to Deep Jungle. You let him drive a few times before this."

"I still can't trust him with it!" Donald folded his arms in defiance. Riku sighed in exasperation.

"Look," He grumbled, shoving all three of them out of his way. "I'll drive. Because Donald, you're getting old, and Sora, I'm older than you."

The duck and the Keyblade wielder gaped at the silver haired boy.

"Good idea, Riku," Goofy clapped his hands, and received glares from both Sora and Donald. "Hey, we're not arguing anymore, right?"

As soon as they were all seated, Riku started the engines, and they took off. Donald and Goofy gazed in awe as the silver haired boy was able to dodge the asteroids without rocking the ship. As soon as they passed the cluster of space junk, they found themselves in open space. Riku put the ship on auto-pilot and turned towards his teammates.

"The King said he's going to investigate those new worlds, and will see if they contain Keyholes," Riku told them. "And since we're helping out, too, we'll have to find someplace to land. We won't be able to identify these worlds' names because they're not in the register."

"So our job is to register them?" Goofy asked.

"It looks like it."

"But that sounds hard," Sora leaned on his chair. "We don't know where the Keyholes are. And who knows if one of the worlds is larger than the ones we've visited last time."

"That's right," Riku nodded. "That's why the King had all four of us coming along. We can split into pairs and start looking. No one will have to go by themselves, hopefully."

"What about Mickey?" Sora asked.

"The King can handle himself," Donald replied. "But still, we might have to look out for him."

Riku then turned around and with a quick intake of breath, he scrambled to the control panel again. Sora tried to get a better view of what was outside, but it seemed normal to him.

"Riku, what's wrong?"

"There's a big storm out there," Riku scowled. "We'll have to get through it to reach the other worlds."

And there it was, a large cloud of debris with some flashes of electricity going through it.

"That's not good…" Goofy shook his head. The ship was edging closer to the menacing cloud, and Donald began pulling at the tassel on his hat.

"Hey, aren't you driving?" He shouted.

"I am," Riku growled, pushing up more buttons and steering the wheel quickly. "But this storm is attracting the ship, and we can't get out of it."

Everyone wore anxious looks as they watched the many clouds of dust pass by them. Then panic came when a large asteroid came their way. Riku began to swear and tried pushing more buttons but to no avail.

"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Riku shouted. Donald and Goofy quickly jumped into their seats. Sora hung onto the armrests of his chair, his back against it. Instantly, the ship lurched, and everyone shouted and hanging onto their chairs. Sora lost the grip of his, and he fell "down" to the ceiling. Donald noticed the boy against the clear walls and began to quack furiously.

"Sora! Watch out for that emergency escape!"

"Wha-" The ship was hit again, and he slide sideways to another wall.

"Riku!" Goofy shouted. "Put the gravity settings back on!"

"I can't! The asteroid knocked out something when it hit us, and I can't get the gravity to work! All the controls went down from the storm!"

The ship rocked abruptly, and Sora was feeling like a tossed pancake when his face hit a third wall. Donald was screeching at the top of his lungs. Seconds later, the ship shifted sides, and Sora was flung into a door. He flailed his arms and legs, and the hatch clicked open.

A large gust of wind flew into the ship, and everyone began to cough and gasp for air. Sora realized he opened the escape hatch and struggled to close it again. His fingers fumbled for the knob. If he could just kick the air a bit and throw himself forward, he just might close it. His plans were stashed when his slippery fingers let go of the hatch, and he was too close to the door.

"Sora!" the others cried.

The ship was now spinning, and the Keyblade Master was sent flying out. He quickly made a grab for the edge of the door, and he tried to pull himself in. His fingers slipped again, and he was sent spiraling away, his ears feeling the distant shouts of name as he could feel the air leaving his lungs and then nothing.

* * *

A startling rumble of the dungeon cells woke its only prisoner, who scrambled to his feet and backed up into the corner farthest from the door. He tried to pull at the restraints on his arms, but nothing worked. He cursed loudly and backed up against the wall, hoping that the rocks will not tumble onto his head. Inspector Howard Link was running the best he could into the prison cell, his fingers fiddling with the keys as he sought to find the right one. The doors quickly opened, and the building immediately jerked sideways. The two stumbled to the floor.

"Walker!" Link shouted, "Get out!"

He wanted to ask what was going on, and he had no answer as the tremors increased, and he rolled to the side to dodge a boulder that broke the wall. Allen grit his teeth as he struggled to get up. He could hear loud rumbles and yelps of the people above, but he was immediately picked up by Link. He struggled as much as he could, only to be cornered right outside the hole in the wall. His chafed hands were numb from the weight of heavy chains dragging his shoulders down. Link made good distance between him and door, preventing the boy from going any further into headquarters. Allen cursed at the stupid tape on his mouth, which he could have used for swearing at the man, and instead, he shot the Inspector a dirty look. Link retorted with a glare just as feral, but he looked back at the closed dungeon cell.

"Go!" He angrily barked at Allen. "The Akuma coming after you, and we sure as hell can't let them take you or the 14th!"

Allen didn't budge. Akuma? They already found headquarters, again? But… how…? And that meant everyone was in danger! So why in the world was he not allowed to join his comrades?

"Go…" Link's furious steps kept him petrified. "You can't stay here. I'll rejoin you when my work here is done."

Before Allen could object, he was picked up roughly by the arm, and tossed unceremoniously out of the destroyed prison cell. Free fall and panic overtook him as his legs began flailing in the air, somehow wishing he could fly by just kicking. It wasn't long before his head connected with a hollow platform with the rest of his body. His head began to throb and soon after, his vision faded as soon as he saw soft hands pushing him up against the side of the boat.

* * *

Dahlia was an elderly lady, but her heart was just the same as it always was. She yearned for adventure, much to her late husband's dismay. Her husband… She had long since lost him since two years ago, and she felt nothing about it. The woman probably did, but she must have forgotten it.

She was sweeping the front of her small shop when a her eye caught a small streak of light falling from the sky. It was quick, and lasted only a few seconds. She concluded that it was near the forest. Immediately her strong urge to leave her evening work rose up inside her, as she felt a threat coming this way.

She looked back at her shop and to the woods. It was late evening, a bit too late for an old lady like herself to be running about. Oh, never mind that, anyways. She put away her broom, and lit the oil lamp next to the door. She took the lantern with her and closed the door from behind, and she hobbled onto the cobblestone path.

"Well, here goes nothing," She said to herself as she passed by the welcome sign of the town.

* * *

Blue eyes flew open followed by a strangled gasp for air. Sora sat up, clutching his chest from the previous sensation of suffocation when he was separated from his team. Come to think of it… where are they? He quickly got onto his feet, and saw no one in this strange dark swamp. He took a step in the dirty waters and immediately went knee deep into it. He sulked to himself, knowing that he'll probably be tossed into a long bath if he found a place to stay.

He trudged across the vast expanse of green algae, but he could not find anyone. Sora sighed and decided to find lodging and begin searching the next day, yet he was wary of the forest here. The depth of the water increased, and he nearly toppled in until he caught onto a bunch of logs and thick plants to walk on.

Then a rustle of leaves caught him off guard. He crouched lower, forgetting that fact that his clothes are getting soaked to chest level now. He unleashed his Keyblade and quickly shuffled behind a rock. Sora began to tense as he heard feet wading into the pond. The rippling water was growing stronger as the sound came closer. His breathing hitched momentarily when a larger wave passed by him.

"What are you doing here, boy?" An old lady's voice made him jump. "Come out, now. You shouldn't be playing around in the swamp at night."

Sora jumped out quickly, and met a wrinkly faced woman with a small boat. Her lantern flickered feebly and gave a strange untrusting feeling to her face. But Sora hurriedly swam to her, and climbed into the boat. As he exited the water, he felt the cold air hit him hard, and he began chattering his teeth when he fell back on the seats. The old lady chuckled, and she began to row.

"We'll have to take you to the inn," She laughed. "You'll need a long bath."

"Um… right…" He muttered, and he sat up carefully. In the direction she was going, Sora could see a small dock. Now why hadn't he seen that before?

The boat then stopped in the middle of the pond, and he looked at the lady with a confused expression.

"Wait… why are we stopping?"

"I can't let you pass… you see…" the old lady's back was turned as she stood up straight and erect, unlikely of any elderly person. "I have a small mission… to destroy little boys like you."

Fear flashed through Sora's eyes and he scrambled to his feet as well, and summoned his Keyblade. The lady laughed, and she didn't even look back.

"So, you do have an Innocence weapon, after all, little boy…" She continued. "Now, how about you see my own weapon!"

A gust of wind enveloped the lady, rocking the boat. Sora, unable to keep his balance, tumbled off, and burst out of the water. He swam to the more shallow parts of the area, and looked back at the boat. It was gone, and so was the old woman. Sora persisted, believing that she went somewhere and he had to find her.

"Looking for me, boy?" the old lady's voice seemed to echo behind him. Since when was there a cave near this pond?

Sora spun around, and saw nothing, and he tightened his grip on the Keyblade.

"Where are you…" he growled. "Show yourself!"

"I'm already in front of you, boy."

Before Sora could register anything, he felt pound deep into his stomach, and he was flung into a dead tree headfirst. His head began to throb painfully, and he shakily got up, his Keyblade still in his hands. His frustration grew, and he still couldn't see the lady.

"I see now," the lady taunted him. "So this little Exorcist seems to know how to stay alive a bit more than a useless Finder. Your Innocence didn't even shatter, it seems."

The new terms confused Sora even more. Exorcist? Innocence?

"What are you talking about?" He angrily shouted. "I am Sora, a Keyblade Master!"

"Oh, you made a new name?" the lady's voice echoed. "How arrogant."

"Stop being a coward!" Sora scowled. "Where are you?"

"Hm… I guess I'll do that…"

On a small island, the winds came back, and a strange metal body that resembled a snake rose from the small tornado. Its head was that of a deformed jester: mad eyes, wide grin, black stars. Sora gasped at the horrifying creature.

"W-What are you?" He crouched into a battle stance.

"I'm that same old lady, Exorcist." She answered. "Not really. She is long gone. I was only wearing her skin. But don't you know that… Exorcist Boy?"

"Don't call me that!" Sora jumped up and held his Keyblade up, planning a long strike down on her head. But her tail was faster and hit his stomach with such force he was tossed back into the water. He swam to the small islands, and summoned his Keyblade again. He tried it again, and dodged the tail, landing a blow onto the strange black stare on her forehead. He followed up with more attacks ranging from the neck to head, until he finished the combination with an impressive spin. He pulled back from the monster and watched it stand in awe, hoping it to explode. But he was answered with laughter.

"You really think that's going to stop me?" She turned to face him, unscathed. "Your Innocence must be very weak… Let me finish you in a quick way possible, and I brought some friends along for the party."

Out of the forest came crowds of people, the faces pale and expressions unnatural limp. Then all of them screamed and shouted as their faces stretched and twisted until metal wires and guns tore through their skin and eventually the entire body. Soon Sora was surrounded by strange balloon like creatures armed with guns and strange masks of agonized faces.

Sora was alarmed by the strange appearances of these new creatures. Guns were pointed at him, and he braced himself for rapid fire. The multiple series of gunfire began, and he quickly ran across the shallow shores of the pond, trying to find some way to destroy these things. He snapped into motion as he aimed for these balloon creatures. He whacked their sides and heads, but only small dents and nothing at all. He retreated to the middle of the pond. Why wasn't his Kingdom Key working on these? Weren't they Heartless? He aimed his weapon in desperation and watched it glow red.

"Fire!" He cried, and a ball of fire went straight through, leaving a hole in one of the demons, but it eventually wounded itself together. The snake-demon's grin widened, her eyes dilating in glee.

"Hm… what a weak Exorcist you are!" She cackled. "And here I thought I was a goner!"

Sora frowned. What did she mean by "Exorcist?" She had already called him that a few times, and that wasn't helping much at all.

"What are you?" He shouted. "Are you a Heartless?"

"Hm… so that's you call us…" the creature smiled, if she could.

"I need to put you out of your misery …" Sora growled, trying to think up of a good combination of attacks, but his train of thought was interrupted by an explosion of one of the "lower" demons. From the corner of his eye, another erupted into flames, yet he could see some bits of foreign metal splashing into the murky waters.

"Another Exorcist?" The snake cried. Both of them noticed a small hint of a person appearing behind the snake and disappearing again.

A strange yellow and green light zipped through the night, and a beeline of these spherical killing machines exploded. The snake-like demon swerved her head about, trying to find the intruder. Sora saw his chance to leap behind a nearby willow tree without her notice. With his back pressed against the wall, he held his Keyblade at the ready. He could hear the snake twirling about, agitating more of the swamp's water as she searched frantically.

Soon, gloved hands clamped of his mouth and restrained his arms. He bucked and writhed in his captor's grasp, even resorting to a loud muffled shout, but he was quickly shushed.

"Be quiet, will you?" the man's voice gruffly warned him. "You want that thing to notice you, or not?"

Sora said nothing, and he was immediately dragged across the waters. The demons were too busy standing around or looking for the new "Exorcist" to notice him and this mystery man move out of the pond, and as soon as they reached shore, he was let go. Sora felt a strong shove of the shoulders, making him break into an aimless run. He could hear the man running behind him, his feet almost in sync with his own.

They arrived in a clearing, where both fell to their knees, gasping harshly and feeling dizzy. Sora looked behind him and saw a man with braided blonde hair and two dots on his forehead. His red uniform was tattered and torn, from another journey, Sora assumed. Immediately, sharp brown eyes shot up at him, and Sora winced at his fierce gaze.

"What in the name of God were you doing facing against an Akuma, boy!" The man scolded him. "Do you have a single clue how dangerous and lethal they can be?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Sora jumped, facing the man. "And what the heck is an Akuma, anyway?"

"I don't have time to explain anything for you," the man growled, getting up as well, but faltering. "Miss Lee is buying time for us to get moving, especially you, brat. Go through those trees. There's a road down that way, and that'll lead you into town. Go!"

Sora disobeyed and knelt down, helping him up. The man's face turned angry red.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm helping you!" Sora shot back. "Your leg seems to be injured and you can't walk! Come on! Let me help-"

"I am perfectly fine!" the blonde man yelled into the boy's ear. "Now let go of me, or I'll have to restrain you!"

"And what am I going to do?" Sora argued. "Leave you hear to die? No way! I don't know you, but I can't leave people in danger!"

"You're only a civilian!" the man wretched free of Sora's hold, and was weakly standing on his feet. Sora wanted to say more, but another rustle of bushes alerted them, and they spun around. Sora saw the man draw out a long knife attached to his arm, and the man swooped down on him. The young Keyblade Master hit the grassy floor with a small grunt of pain.

"Shush," the man shoved a hand in his face. "Someone's coming."

The rustling continued, and out stepped a cloaked girl. Her short green hair seemed also messy, and she was panting heavily.

"I got rid of most of them," She reported with a shaky voice. "That Level Three was a bit of a nuisance, but she's gone. We need to get out of here, Link."

Link retracted his knife and yanked Sora up to his feet, and the girl's gaze fell on him.

"So, you're the little witness," She said quietly. "We need to get you to safety."

Sora nodded meekly, and he watched Link and the girl make a small scan of the area before getting ready to go.

"Miss Lee," Link frowned. "It seems that the Akuma were attracted to this boy before we came here. We need to get out of here before any more Akuma or the Order find us. Drag Walker out of the hiding place."

"Yes," the girl nodded quickly and she ran to a group of logs on the other side of the clearing, and with some surprising strength, she lifted the logs away, and lifted the body of another young boy. Sora took no hesitance to rush over and help carry the boy. Miss Lee looked at him with curiosity, and Sora sighed.

"I'll carry him, so it won't be hard on you."

She nodded and the three of them headed into the denser parts of the forest with Link in front cutting away branches. Sora tried his best to not let anything hit the boy he was carrying. He ducked under a large frond of leaves and winced as he heard the boy's head run into the branch. They finally found themselves on a small dirt path, where Sora could see some twinkling lights of a nearby city. They all sighed in relief.

"Hurry," Link shoved Sora lightly. "We need to get into town so the Akuma can't find us."

"Right." Sora pushed on ahead, but was interrupted by a shower of bullets blocking his path. He looked up and saw another one of those balloon-like monsters, or Akuma, as Link called it, flying overhead. Miss Lee scowled and ran past Sora, and launched into the air at an impossible height. Sora spun around to see another Akuma flying from behind, and gun was raised at him and the boy. Link was pushed him away from it's range just as the bullets began to rain down on them. Soon, both monsters were destroyed, and the cloaked girl landed in front of them, her long cloak gently billowing down.

"Link," She nodded to them. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah…" Link massaged his sore shoulder. "Hopefully those the last of them in the area."

"And you?" She asked.

"I'm a bit dizzy from falling," Sora got to his feet, while Link picked up the other boy. "I'll be-"

His arm seemed to be burning from the inside, and he yelped in pain, clutching it. Link glanced at Sora's arm and gasped. Miss Lee did as well.

"Y-Your… hand…"

Sora looked at the back of his hand, where a large black star was deeply imprinted in his skin. His palm felt like a thousand needles stabbing his skin and he winced, and his vision began to flutter. Was his body functions shutting down, too?

"Hey, boy!" Link shouted as he began to fade away.

The Keyblade Master collapsed on his knees and began to cough harshly, and he watched the stars on his arm multiply until his entire hand turned black. Panic arose and he was frozen in place, and his world went black.

**A/N:** _Hehe... Sorry for the confusion of names. Lenalee does not tell Sora her name yet, and nor does he ask for it, so we're just following his logic that Link called her Miss Lee, so there we go. and just like most video games, apparently people, usually the hero, can survive really hard falls. Magically, Sora landed in the world of -Man unscathed, until he gets pummeled by the Akuma. Poor guy... he arrived in the world and had already gotten knocked out twice._


	2. The Pentacle

**The Diabolical**

**Chapter 02 – The Pentacle**

* * *

"What is this place…?"

Goofy and Riku looked about the area. They had successfully made it out of the storm, only to crash into a cluster of canyons, which took a full day to climb while pulling the Gummi ship up (mostly on Donald's part with his magic). They only reached another flat and deserted wasteland.

In frustration, Donald kicked a pile of stones.

"That idiot Sora!" He quacked. "If he didn't forget his seatbelt, then he'd been standing right here!"

"Gawrsh, Donald," Goofy chuckled. "Don't be too harsh on Sora. Besides, he was the last person to get into his seat. And he just forgot."

"Well, that wasn't the FIRST time he's done that," Donald grumbled. "I'll bet you that I'll fry him when I find him!"

While the duck rambled onto into more garble and squawking, Riku sighed and sat down on a large boulder looking up at the sky. This sky was just like what he had seen back at Destiny Island. If memory persists, the locations of the stars were different. It reminded him of Kairi's poem that somehow made its way to Dark Margin. He used to be very intent on leaving his home, but after all he had gone through, he was content to stay put than leave, yet his heart always longed for adventures, more likely ones that didn't involve saving the universe.

"The wind is rather nice here, don't cha think?" Goofy grinned. Riku turned to him and nodded. Then a small distant tune rang in his ears and he twisted around, looking behind him. Goofy noticed that frantic movement.

"Riku? What's going on?"

"I heard someone singing, but it's far away…"

"It's probably the wind," Donald waved it away. "Come on, let's get inside the Gummi ship and rest for the night. I'm betting the nearest town is probably miles away. Besides, we need to fix this Gummi ship, pronto."

* * *

The aroma of roasting turkey filled his nose, and his eyes fluttered awake. Sora woke up groggily, and he could see fuzzy outlines of a wooden ceiling, where a small howling wind relentless hit against the door.

"Are you alright?" A sweet, gentle voice echoed. Hm…? He thought to himself. Was that… Aerith? Kairi…?

His vision clarified, and he saw the face of a rather attractive teenage girl with short green hair that was reaching her shoulders. Her purple eyes twinkled with relief. She was nervous with talking to him, her anxious hands ruffling her black dress.

"My name is Lenalee Lee." She smiled. "You've slept for three days straight, and I was wondering if you really died form that poison."

"I… I have…?" Sora mumbled as he realized he was lying on a sofa. Lenalee nodded in response.

"I had to carry you into this small inn."

"E-eh?" He was taken aback. "I-I'm terribly sorry for being so much trouble for you-"

"It's all right," She smiled. "It's my job to make sure civilians like yourself don't get harmed by Akuma."

"Hm," Link's voice surprised them. "It would have been better and easier if you didn't carry him here, Miss Lee."

"You're an Inspector, Link," Lenalee sighed. "You know your duties, too."

"I'm only concerned with the Order, not the outside world," the blonde man headed for the door. "I have no interests in whatever you Exorcists do other than eliminating Akuma. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to talk with the innkeeper."

Lenalee turned to Sora. "I'm sorry about Link. He's just really stressed right now."

She helped him sit up on his chair, and then tossed a blanket or two onto him, reasoning that it was autumn, and the weather was getting a bit cold at the moment. She then turned her attention to another boy who was occupying the bed in the small room. Sora could not clearly see who he was, since said mystery boy was wrapped in a tremendous amount of bandages and strange looking stickers with Chinese characters on them (Sora had no way of reading it at all).

Lenalee replaced a wet cloth on the boy's forehead and went to sitting in a nearby armchair, waiting patiently for Link to come back and say something. Sora sat quietly, his hand jumbled with the many new mysteries that had arisen when he arrived in this world. He gulped before plucking courage to finally talk more.

"Um… Lenalee…?"

The girl snapped out of her daze, and put her attention on him, and he shivered slightly.

"I'm sorry to ask, but, what are these Akuma and Exorcists you mention? I come from far away, so I'm not exactly… caught up in these terms…"

"Oh…" Lenalee pondered. "I guess you should know… Have you ever lost someone very dear to you?"

Sora thought... he's never lost anyone and if he did, they came back anyways… unless…

"I'll say that I have…" He shrugged. She took the prompt and began to tell the tales of the Black Order and the Noah family to best of her ability. The story left Sora in some state of shock and amazement.

"So you're an Exorcist who fights these Akuma?"

"Indeed," She nodded. "my Innocence is these red bangles on my feet."

She lifted one leg and Sora could see a red ring around her ankle.

"They turn into boots that I can use to jump at great heights and destroy Akuma by kicking them."

"That's interesting…" Sora nodded. Usually people used swords and the like, but not often did he hear of boots as weapons.

"And Innocence is the only weapon that can destroy these Akuma and free the souls trapped inside it?"

"Correct," Lenalee smiled. Sora gave his arm a confused look. She had said that the bullets of an Akuma were fatal, and could turn a normal into a pile of dust. Sora wasn't really normal himself, but he couldn't help but wonder why…

"Lenalee?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know why that Akuma bullet hit me, and I got infected in the arm, but it's not here anymore? Wasn't I supposed to die?"

Lenalee frowned at the thought. "Link and I found that very strange, too. Usually people with Innocence as part of their bodies can survive this."

"So I'm an Exorcist?"

"Possibly, but we don't know if you can be qualified to be one if your synchronization rate can't be found. We would have to go back to Headquarters and have some scientist help with that..."

She trailed off, and suddenly changed her gaze to the sleeping boy on the bed. Sora wasn't the brightest person on the planet, but he could at least piece some information together by looking at people's faces and actions.

"You can't go back?" Sora asked, and Lenalee looked at him, quite alarmed that he figured it out too quickly. She then sighed in defeat.

"Yes… I can't go back to headquarters. It's probably gone now, since Akuma were raiding it when I left, and Link and I have committed a crime."

"A crime?" Sora sat up straighter. "Is it related to the boy in bed over there?"

Lenalee nodded.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Sora looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "I might be able to help you."

So, the Keyblade Master learned of the boy's name, Allen Walker, and his current position as an Exorcist framed for conspiring against the Order. According to Lenalee's knowledge of the situation, the boy had already gone through a few weeks in a prison without food.

"My brother was not happy with Central's treatment of Allen," She said wistfully. "We've already lost four Exorcists in one week… General Cross is gone. Kanda is dead. Lavi and Bookman are missing. And Chaoji is ill with a virus we can't identify. We don't want to lose Allen either…"

"So your brother told you to break Allen out?" Sora received a nod.

"We didn't expect Akuma to attack headquarters, of course," She elaborated. "My brother immediately told me to get Allen out so the Akuma won't find him. Link followed along, and he came along anyways. He says he wants to make sure Allen and I don't betray the Order, but I'm sure he means well."

"Your friend here seems to be very strong…" Sora smiled at the sleeping boy. "Being the container for the 14th and all…"

Lenalee smiled. "We've only recently left Headquarters when we found you. Hopefully we can get moving again really soon. We're currently in France, and I believe Italy will be a safer, since I have some connections there."

"I… I see…" Sora nodded, not even sure of the places she mentioned. Lenalee then wore a look that seemed as if she was forgetting something and finally remembered it.

"Sora," She frowned. "You don't seem to be from around these parts. As a matter of fact… I've never seen shoes… so big… Are you a traveler or part of a circus around here?"

Sora glanced at his oversized black shoes and chuckled nervously. No one had really thought his shoes were bizarre before when he had visited other worlds, at least not in his face, that is…

"Are you from Spain, Sora?" Lenalee suggested. "You're really tan and you have really blue eyes."

"Eh?" the boy was bewildered. "I'm sorry… what is Spain?"

"It's on the map," Link surprised him again as he seemingly snuck into the room. "Didn't you learn geography?"

Sora glowered at the blonde man. "You've really got to drop the surprise thing you have going on here…"

Link flung down a small roll of paper, which unfurled itself on the small coffee table between to Lenalee's armchair and Sora's sofa. He jabbed at a certain point of the map onto some areas with names Sora never heard of.

"This is Spain."

"Oh… really?"

"Yeah," Link scowled. "And it hasn't changed for the past fifty years."

"Oh… I didn't know that…" Sora scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "I guess I haven't exactly gotten caught up with things these days…"

Link felt even more suspicious. "Are you implying that you're older than you look?"

Sora shook his head. "I'm fifteen. I'm not some immortal…"

"From your clothing, I can tell that you're traveling a lot," Link pressed. "So why do you have little knowledge of where you travel, let alone not even know where Europe is?"

Sora attempted to avoid Link's harsh glare. Lenalee looked very anxious and quite afraid. At first, Sora assumed that Lenalee would be kind enough to defend him, and then he could begin his story… Before, he was immediately trusted and looked up to by the residents of different worlds… This was quite hard, deciding between spinning a tall tale or blatantly telling the truth. At thirteen, he could have been easily forgiven for telling stories about monsters that lacked hearts, but at fifteen, it required thinking.

"Well?" Link awaited his answer. "You're acting very suspicious, and I can't let someone who knows confidential information to leave quietly."

Link gave a dark look to Lenalee, who shrank back slightly in her chair.

"Well…" Sora chuckled darkly. "It's a long story…"

* * *

The daughter of the mayor of Destiny Islands took another step on the soft sands of the beach on the small island she had shared with her childhood friends. She had grown accustomed to taking evening strolls around this place, with empty hopes that her friends will come home.

Kairi brushed away the loose locks of red hair out of her face. Usually she'd come along with Tidus and Wakka, who'd row the boat here, but today, she felt like coming alone, taking the boat herself. Once in a while, she'd summon Destiny's Embrace, the Keyblade she was given back in the World That Never Was. Despite her protests, Sora coaxed into staying here back the islands, and she had really no other choice. She had yet to master any form of sword fighting and she understood his pain. He had been through too much to merely let someone such as herself to walk into danger.

She stared out at the sun and its calm waters, wishing that Sora and Riku would just pop out of the sky and come running onto the shore, just like last time. But… knowing them, it'd be a while until that happens, but she could always hope… right?

The young Princess of Heart climbed up to the long wooden dock where she and Sora usually sat in the sun until Riku scolded them for not helping build their little raft. Come to think of that raft… they had never truly used it at all despite the fact that they had completed it. Maybe they should try to use it when they had time.

Kairi was bored again, and she took to walking along the beaches to find something pretty like seashells or other bizarre things that wash up on shore. She was already halfway across the beach when she saw something big slowly gliding up the waves onto the sand. Curious, she dashed forward, until she stopped short in shock.

A little boy, only the age of possibly ten, was lying face down on the sand. His short blue hair was disheveled and contained bits of sand and seaweed. His arms and legs were covered in scars and bruises that have probably healed a few days ago. Had he been washed ashore? Kairi took no haste to rush forward and kneel down beside him. She pushed him over onto his back.

He was asleep, his face peaceful as ever. Kairi would have thought he was dead had it not been for the rising of his chest. The boy stirred awake, his eyes darting between Kairi and the rest of the little island. He tried to move his body, but winced at the pain. Kairi quickly placed his head on top of her lap and looked down at his confused face.

"Are you… all right…?" Kairi asked. The boy didn't answered, but instead murmured something unintelligible, before closing his eyes again. Kairi gasped, and immediately picked the boy up into her arms, and ran for the boat.

* * *

Lenalee and Link were left with mouths agape from the mounds of information Sora had left them. Heartless, Nobodies, they could understand, but the many other worlds out there, and all this talk about Keyblades? Unbelievable.

"Currently we're sealing the Keyholes in uncharted lands that aren't included in Mickey's kingdom of worlds, so technically, we're on our own."

"I see…" Lenalee nodded weakly.

"So… this weapon you call the Keyblade…" Link asked. "You seem very skilled when I saw you at the swamp, yet you lack the power to defeat Akuma with it?"

"I'm not so sure…" Sora chuckled. "I was actually able to give the Level Ones some amount of damage, but it was just dents in the outer shell. However, this Kingdom Key isn't really the best by itself, so I attach Keychains to it so it has some more abilities. For example, one keychain can enhance my magic, and another could increase my strength. It gets complicated when you have so many of them in your pocket. I haven't tried any Keychains with the Keyblade for a while, so I don't know how that would be."

"That sounds interesting…" Lenalee smiled.

"Then again," Link sighed. "You survived that poisoning, which is definitely not normal. We'll put you up as a potential Exorcist."

"Hm…" Lenalee pondered. "Maybe because you just arrived here, you might have had Innocence at first, or what you may say 'a strong heart.' Maybe the Innocence is adjusting to this world since you haven't been here…"

"Either way," Sora added. "We'll have to take some time... You're probably the hardest people I've ever met to actually talk about this…"

"Well, what do you expect?" Link scowled, getting up from his seat. "This world is in war. You'd think we'd be very friendly to strangers like you?"

"I hate to wonder if anyone else will be harder to convince…" Sora mumbled, his face turned to Allen's direction, and Lenalee laughed.

"If you're worrying about Allen when he wakes up, you shouldn't worry. He's a lot more easy to convince than anyone in the Order."

"He'd probably wake up and just be more interested in eating than listening to that story of yours," Link grumbled, earning a rather disappointed look from Lenalee and a surprised looked form Sora.

Link sighed in annoyance. "By the way, I was able to get the innkeeper to let us stay here a few nights. She's also vowed not to tell anyone that we're here, so both of you, no showing off your abilities when around here. We're too close to the Order to say we're safe, and Akuma numbers are increasing around here. Hopefully, I get news from Bak or your brother on the raid."

"Couldn't you use the golem?" Lenalee asked. Link shook his head.

"Nowadays, golems are rigged so the Order can find out where they are. I can hack them and turn it off, but it's really tricky, so it's not a good choice anyways."

"What about my friends? Couldn't the Order find them for us?"

Link palmed his face in frustration. "Don't you get it? We can't contact the Order at any costs because they'll have our necks, and Walker's, too! And Walker is a crucial piece to this war!"

Sora closed his mouth and resigned to his chair, while Link fumed and went back to his report, which he managed to keep track of, surprisingly. Lenalee had not spoken for a long time, and she got up from her seat. She then walked up to Sora, who was still on the couch, and handed him a key.

"Here," She said gently. "This is for your room. I believe you would have wanted some privacy when you're staying here."

"Oh…" the boy took it gratefully. "Thank you."

"Do you want me to help you walk to your room?" She asked. "Your legs seemed all banged up when I was dressing your wounds."

"Nah… I'm fine." Sora grunted as he pushed himself of the sofa. His legs began to burn as he hobbled out of the room and opened the door with fumbling hands. Lenalee walked outside to watch him make his way to the room.

"Um…" Sora waited for her attention. "Thank you, for helping me back there."

"It's nothing, Sora," Lenalee smiled. "I'm sure you would have done the same for me."

"I would," He smiled. "I hope Allen gets better soon…"

The girl nodded back, and she left him alone to walk into his room. It was exactly like the one beside this one, except for maybe a different type of flower vase on the table, and the window on a different side. He took a seat in an armchair and thought.

Apparently, these worlds were not as friendly as the ones he had visited before. And this one was already in a state of war between light and dark. Sora was merely a third party, as was his friends, most likely. Hopefully, they were safe, but he wasn't so sure of that, ever since his confrontation with the Akuma at the swamp.

Lenalee was a nice person, and she reminded him of those he met back home… they were sweet, and caring… His mind set back on Kairi. He had admitted several times that he liked her… and she knew it, of course, but he hadn't truly thought about anything more than a proclamation about it. He wondered if Kairi would forget him again, if he went away a bit too long, and he'd come back years later with more anxiety at the fact that she had found happiness with someone else. He mentally slapped himself for thinking of this and he drawn his attention back to the situation at hand.

As for Link, on the other hand, Sora wasn't too sure of the guy. He sounded like a cross but actually nice person, like Leon, but his demeanor was different. Maybe because they led different lives? From what Sora learned from Lenalee, a majority of the members of the Order have gone through tragedies of all kinds, from nearly falling to the hands of the Earl, or losing loved ones because of their Innocence. Link was probably just like them, and he lost too many who were dear to him.

But what Sora couldn't really stand was what Link said. This Keyblade Master may not have known Allen, but he was sure that Allen was more than just someone who held the title of an Exorcist, and that he was a person, yet Link said he was a crucial piece to the war, like Allen was some knight in a chess game. He began to wonder about this Central, whom the Black Order worked under. Were they similar to Organization XIII? Their objectives should be different, but were these superiors extremists?

Sora left himself in deep thought before he succumbed to another long sleep, dreaming of his adventures in the past. Perhaps he should visit Pooh today…

* * *

_He landed on the large platform of stained glass, confused at why had come back. Sora summoned his Keyblade, cautious to the fact that he had been attacked the last time he had arrived here._

_ "It's nice to see that you're back, Sora." A familiar voice made him jump and spin around in surprise. A boy with messy blonde hair stood before him, wearing white, gray, and red clothes. He had no intention to fight, as seen with no weapon in hand. His blue eyes twinkled with relief._

_ "Roxas?" Sora brightened. "Is that you?"_

_ "Who is Roxas?" The boy was confused. "I know my name's not Roxas."_

_ "Then who are you?" the Keyblade Master asked. "And why do you look like Roxas?"_

_ The strange boy tilted his head, puzzled by Sora's words. "There is a boy who looks like me? That's odd…"_

_ "Who are you?" Sora inquired. Before the other could reply, a flock of doves flew in between them. As soon as the birds were gone, the strange boy was gone, leaving Sora in utter bewilderment._

**A/N:** _Hehe... New chapter already? That's a shocker. From now on, updates will be very very very as slow as a slug, and possibly come out in large clumps of chapters because I currently have little time to write this stuff at this time of the year. Ah, yes, the technique of not revealing names of mysterious characters, but they shall become very obvious. Very Obvious. I think the last one of this chapter is way too easy. The first two are slightly harder to figure out. I'll eventually set up a poll for you devoted readers to take, and it's if I plan to write a sequel. Good luck guessing our three mystery characters of the day, and suggestions are welcome!_


	3. A Compromise

**The Diabolical**

**Chapter 03 – A Compromise**

* * *

"Sora? You in there?"

Sora woke up at the rapping on his door. Startled, he leapt off his armchair and looked about the room. He had slept until morning. In that armchair. Was he really that comfortable with chairs?

"Sora?" Lenalee's voice called again. The boy snapped back to reality and opened the door quickly. Sure enough, the green haired girl was there, handing him a set of clothes. Sora took them hesitantly, and looked at her to ask for an explanation. She chuckled at his confusion.

"It's clothes, Sora," She smiled. "You can't go walking around town looking like that. Since you and Allen are the same height, I thought I'd actually let you wear some of his clothes. Please, take them. And I can give you his boots for the time being. Your shoes are very big, you know."

"Oh…" Sora blushed in embarrassment. "Thanks… I didn't think of that…"

She bowed and left for her room, and Sora shut the door behind him and took the small bundle of clothes to lay on the bed. He unfolded a long sleeved blouse with buttons. Sora sighed at the fact that it had buttons and not zippers, which he preferred more. The last big article of clothing black pants that looked like the ones that Leon wore. Then there was this red ribbon he had no idea about, even if he turned it over a few times. Hm… maybe he should ask Lenalee later.

He folded his original clothes together, and looked at himself at the provided mirror. He looked… strange, with buttons and slim pants. He began to wonder how Exorcists wore this stuff to travel and fight those demons. He grabbed the extra ribbon and emerged from his room's door. Lenalee was already outside, in her long black coat.

"Um…" Sora held up the red ribbon. "What's… this for?"

"Oh… you don't have those in the outside world?" Lenalee looked surprised and received a shake of the head. "It's a little tie that goes around your neck. It needs to be tight around your neck, because the collar's loose."

Sora gulped at the thought. Was it for choking purposes?

"I don't think I should wear this…" Sora handed it to her. Lenalee gave him a look of surprise.

"Here, let me put it on you-"

"Eh?" Sora backed away in panic. "No, really, I don't wear stuff like that!"

Lenalee stopped, and after some thought, she nodded and put it away in a pocket.

"Link is staying with Allen this time," She led him down the stairs. "Right now, you and I are supposed to walk around this town and survey the town. We might need to know some escape routes and such, and maybe some Akuma may need to be dealt with."

"Technically," Sora simplified it. "You're going to keep doing your job as an Exorcist?"

"Pretty much," She nodded, she directed him to the stairs. "But… We all need a break anyways…"

Sora smiled and walked down with her, and a strange feeling in the back of his mind wavered and disappeared again.

* * *

The town was bustling with many street vendors calling out to passersby and shop owners hanging up welcome signs. Sora was reminded of Hollow Bastion as it was being restored. Come to think of it, how was the place? He hadn't visited it for many months. He was too busy having Riku nag at him to finish his homework at the local library to remember such things. Hm… Hollow Bastion… Could he visit the place once he was done here?

"Sora?" Lenalee's voice nearly sent him crashing into a cartful of flowers.

"W-What?"

"You looked out of place for a moment…" Lenalee sighed. "Honestly, you're quite like Allen, except the formalities."

"Formalities?" Sora asked.

"Yes," The female Exorcist examined some jewelry stand beside the flower vendor. "He's quite the 'gentleman,' unlike his teacher. The only person's he's talked casually with is Kanda. They hated each other from the day they met."

"Care to tell more?" Sora gave a knowing smile. "I'm sure it was something funny."

She brightened. "Yep! And it was. It all started with that Gatekeeper…"

* * *

_Sora was puzzled by the strange appearance and disappearance of the Roxas look-alike, and he searched the entire platform for the boy, but no one._

"_My name… is Ventus." His voice came back, and Sora spun on his feet. The doppelganger was back, and he stood quietly, just like last time._

_ "Ven… tus…?" Sora mouthed the name, and the boy chuckled, earning a questioning glance from the Keyblade wielder._

_ "My friends have called me Ven, for short." The boy smiled. "But that's a long time ago."_

_ Sora felt some welcome aura flowing from the boy, not that he had ever sensed auras before, but something his head told him to trust him, because this… Ventus… was an ally. What was this…? Intuition…?_

_ "Well then, Ven," Sora put away his Keyblade. "What brings you here into my dreams? It's not normal for me to see people from the past everyday."_

_ Ven gave a surprised look before thinking carefully. Sora would only believe that he wanted to spin a lie of some sort._

_ Ven shrugged, "I don't believe we were supposed to meet like this, though. I don't know why I'm here."_

_ "That was my doing." A stranger chuckled, his voice echoing on the lonely platform. Sora and Ven looked around for the source, but to no avail. A large flock of ravens swooped down on them and collected themselves at the middle of the station. The small cloud of dark birds merged itself together, sculpting itself into a body of a man in a top hat. When he was given color, and Sora gasped._

_ "Dark skin… golden eyes..." He deduced. "Are you a Noah?"_

_ The man laughed quietly at Sora's knowledge of this world, while Ventus looked at Sora with thorough surprise. Sure, he had been able to understand a bit about Lenalee's world, but only in bits and pieces. Poor Ven probably wasn't able to catch the part about Noah…_

_ "My, my…" Neah smiled, tipping his hat. "You are too correct."_

_ Sora summoned his Keyblade again, and Ventus did so as well, knowing whatever Sora thought was danger, was danger to himself._

_ "Who are you?" Sora asked fiercely. "Why are you speaking with us here?"_

_ Neah turned to Ventus, who also held the same spiteful frown, and he sighed, pulling his hat down so a shadow fell over his eyes, which seemed to glow none too brightly with a shade of gold._

_ "My name…" the man said. "Is Neah Walker. I'm only here to request for an alliance with you two."_

_ "Alliance?" Sora muttered._

_ "Both of us…?" Ventus gasped._

_ Sora clutched his Keyblade harder. Noah were considered enemies, right? From what Lenalee said, Noah have killed countless Exorcists and destroyed numerous Innocence for many centuries. However, there was one possibility…_

_ "What number are you?" Sora inquired._

_ "Number Fourteen," Neah replied. "I believe you understand Mr. Walker's condition."_

_ "Allen Walker?" Sora verified, and received a curt nod._

_ "Currently, Allen is in a comatose state."_

_ "From torture?" Ventus popped in._

_ "From hitting his head on the bottom of a ferry boat," Neah sighed in embarrassment, and palmed his face in shame. "Honestly… and he was supposed to be an Exorcist…"_

_ "Well?" Sora demanded. "What about Allen?"_

_ "He's… slipping…" Neah reported._

_ Sora recalled something about Allen occasionally losing control of his body when he was gravely injured. The day when the 14__th__ took over temporarily scared the creeps out of the Order, and the boy was imprisoned for a month until now…_

_ "Slipping?" Sora gave sense of doubt. "Wouldn't that be good for you? You were the one who wanted to take over his body."_

_ "Me?" Neah laughed. "Ah, yes… I do want to… very much, so I don't have to keep telling Allen what to do… but I found a better solution, since I feel guilty of killing my little nephew."_

_ "What solution?" Ven spoke up. "I'm betting we have something to do with this."_

_ The Noah smiled. "Correct!"_

_ "Well, what do you want?" Sora glared. The 14th took of his top hat, and began to examine it, much to his frustration. Was this guy really taking his time?_

"_That weapon you two possess," His gold eyes turned cold "I believe you are one who seeks to purge Darkness, no?"_

_ "Yeah…?" Sora shrugged._

_ "Indeed," Ven spoke up again. "That is the quest of a Keyblade Wielder."_

_ "Hm… I see…" Neah stroked his chin carefully. "I'm sure that Keyblade of yours can do more than battling dark and bringing back light. And I'll make a request to you."_

_ Sora was at the edge of his feet and was ready to let go and strike away the man. He was betting a threat, just like the last time, just like Organization XIII. Neah was going say something that would hurt someone else…_

_ Ventus was anxious. Would he bring him to his friends, and then do something bad? From what he saw now, Noah weren't a group to be trifled with…_

_ "You will extract my Heart from Allen so I can be in my own entity."_

_ "What?" Ven and Sora were bewildered._

_ "Do you hear?" Neah sighed. "I just want to get out of a container."_

_ "There's no catch?" Sora asked. A shake of a head._

_ "I'm not able to do anything against you," The man grumbled. "You are my only ways to avoid trouble, so it's no use forcing you."_

_ Sora was still puzzled. So no threats? That sounds like something he himself would do. But what if this was all an act? Neah could turn around and kill someone, right? That was the nature of Noah…_

_ "So?" Neah leaned to the side. "Yes? Or no?"_

_ Ven and Sora looked at each other, and faced him._

_ "We will try to help," Sora said. "But if you do anything-"_

_ "You'll kill me?" Neah laughed. "How cliché… Right… so it's a deal, then. Now… I wouldn't want to keep you sleeping would I?"_

_ Sora's vision faded to black as a loud rapping of wood filled his ears._

* * *

The hairs on the back of the Keyblade Wielder stood on end, and instinct made his feet break into a run towards an alley. Lenalee was caught of guard, and he had already sped away from her.

"Sora! Wait!"

He heard nothing, but small whispers of curses as he ran down the street. A wagon of more flowers were in his way, and he easily vaulted it, launching himself into the air before landing smoothly onto cobblestone, earning a few shrieks from the women and the chickens that passed by. He dove under another wagon and dodged a chicken that unwittingly attempted to fly at his face. The whispers became louder and louder, and he stopped abruptly in front of an alley. No one was there, but the whispers were very strong. He cautiously walked through, occasionally looking behind him to see if any suspicious villager looked in. The whispers were now more audible.

_Kill… Kill… Kill…_

"Sora!" Lenalee's faint voice echoed from outside, and the boy was still wary. Immediately, the ground began to cover itself in spots of black and purple, and without delay, he summoned his Keyblade, and attached a Keychain to it. He wasn't sure which one he put, but hopefully it was something that worked.

Black little creatures rose from the ground, first head, then limbs that twitched every so often. Sora swung his Keyblade and sliced one of them into half, and turned around as soon as the pieces faded away into purple smoke. He got rid of most of them as soon as he heard heavy panting from behind. He spun around and pointed his Keyblade, and it nearly hit Lenalee's nose.

"S-Sora!" The startled Exorcist gasped. "Careful where you swing that thing!"

Sora backed away and turned around to get rid of a Heartless. He then turned back to her and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

Lenalee eyed the blue and white Keyblade with gold filigree. If she examined carefully, the end was adorned with a golden crown. She had never seen such fine handiwork before… For now, all she could think of was her brother's blazing eyes of inspiration and longing to take it apart.

"That… is your Keyblade…?" Lenalee pointed at it. Sora waved it around, its keychain jingling a hollow tune.

"Yep," He grinned. "Pretty cool, huh…?"

"I've never seen anything like it, before…" She got closer to examine. Another puddle of dark erupted between them, and she jumped back in fright. The same dark Heartless appeared, its yellow eyes focused on her. It stayed in place, however.

"This… is a Heartless, Lenalee… It's just a little one, though. It's called a Shadow."

"Shadow?"

"Yes," Sora said in a matter-of-fact tone, swinging his blade across and destroying the enemy. "They're only easy ones, and they don't really do much."

"So there are more powerful ones?" Lenalee added.

"Yeah," Sora smiled. "It's fun to battle those ones, because that's when I do get to go all out."

"Oh… I see…" Lenalee nodded. "So you enjoy fighting Heartless?"

Sora was leading her out of the alley and back into the peace of a bustling market.

"Not really," He answered. "But it's worth it to fight for a good cause. I'm fighting to save millions, just like you Exorcists, right?"

Lenalee was taken aback by his insight, and she nodded again in agreement.

* * *

Riku was not the type to be fascinated with ruins. As much as he absorbed every lesson in his History class quite easily, he would never find any way to be found of… old stone palaces and rusting temples. Goofy, on the other hand, did, and that's how the three of them ended up here. This looked like Traverse Town, when he last visited: empty, abandoned, and dusty. Roofs were collapsed, and walls were broken. Some battle must have occurred. Worst of all, he was the unfortunate one to find a field chock full of dead bodies disintegrating into dust. Donald and Goofy were able to pull him away from there, luckily.

They found themselves under a bridge of this ghost town on a hill, and Riku felt wind blowing from underneath his feet. Goofy and Donald felt it, too, and they searched the floor of plastered rock. They found a removable stone that turned into a passage of more stairs that spiraled down to something else. With quick glances at each other for approval, they jumped down, and continued their expedition.

They came across a large room with collapsed marble pillars, and a hole that faced the sky. The moon shone upon the center of a large circle, a stage, they thought. Riku stepped closer and saw a bundle of cloth… and long blonde hair.

"Guys..." He muttered. "There's someone here…"

He rushed over, with Goofy and Donald following. He turned over the body, and his face showed disappointment. It wasn't a person, but merely a mannequin with a movable mouth. A metal cap was placed on her head, and it was probably some device of some sort. Her eyes were left open, blue irises glazed and lifeless. A blue cloak was literally in rags, and her golden hair was frayed. It was merely a dead robot.

"Riku?" Goofy pointed out past them. "Everyone here seems to be… dead…"

Goofy disliked using that word… "dead." It sounded… hollow… and nothing that fit his creed of being happy and smiling. Of course, being the captain of the Royal Guard required him to know that not everything was a cheerful bundle of joy, and sadly, he had not killed anyone in his lifetime. He had only seen aftermaths of death, and had attended a few funerals, but that was all.

Sure enough, there were only dead bodies. Two of them. One was a cloaked man with a pointed hat. His face was obscured by a mask, much to their relief. This man seemed to have been dead for a year. The other, however, was very recent, possibly a few days. Against Donald's protests, Riku and Goofy came closer to look.

A young man, nineteen or twenty, was leaning against a checkered pillar. His long blue hair was still soft, which was quite good in comparison to the other parts of his body. Eyes closed and lips parted. He could be sleeping… but no rise of chest or air from the mouth or nose. His skin was pale and cracked, as if he were stone and was nearly close to shattering. He had no shirt, and he was only wearing black pants. Even more alarming, his arms were wrapped protectively around half a body of someone else. A lover?

"That's disgusting…" Donald muttered. "To hold onto only half of a person's body…"

"Um… Donald…?" Goofy's voice wavered. "I don't think that thing he's holding is even human. Didn't you notice that it's made of some sort of red crystal?"

Riku summoned his Keyblade and poked at the finger of the half-body. It crumbled away into dust. He frowned, and stood up to prepare to leave. Goofy and Donald followed suit, not wishing to see any more horrors.

"Please… young boy…" A feminine voice echoed in the room, and they all stopped, and went into a fighting stance.

"Show yourself," Riku demanded.

"I'm sorry…" She replied. "I cannot move from where I am."

"Who are you?" Donald asked fearfully. He hated enemies that hid in the shadows or were from far away.

"I'm merely a soul that is currently departing to the depths of hell." The voice replied wistfully. "I seem to have caught you three just as I was leaving."

"Hell?" Riku raised an eyebrow. "Did you commit a crime or something?"

"Yes," she said. "I killed millions, and I need to atone for my sins."

Goofy then gave a small gasp. "I think I'm piecing it together. Are you the body of that red crystal creature that dead man is holding?"

Donald and Riku gave sharp glances of "What are you thinking?" to the Shield warrior, who merely shrugged with a sheepish grin.

"Correct." The woman chuckled. "You're quite the smart person."

"I think you have something to ask of us," Riku jumped to the discussion.

"No, I really don't…" the woman sighed. "I just wanted to give final goodbyes to someone's who's living before I depart…"

"I see…" Riku glowered. "Are you sure?"

"I guess…" she affirmed, her voice growing fainter.

"What's your name?" Goofy smiled. "I'm Goofy, and this is Donald and Riku!"

"What nice names!" the woman's voice was very soft. "My name… is Alma… Alma Karma…"

"That's a nice name, Alma!" Goofy smiled.

"Thank you…" She was barely audible. "I'm sorry this conversation is so short…"

A small pop was heard in the silent night, and the three people found nothing more to do except to leave quietly. They had done enough here, and they had seen enough. Now they had to carry on.

* * *

Kairi was beyond excited as she watched the eyes of the mysterious boy flutter open. He slowly got up from his bed, and blearily looked about the ward, until he met her face. She wore a warm smile, and looked straight into his dark eyes.

"Hello," She smiled. "You were unconscious when I found you. It's nice to know that you're awake."

The boy's face showed little emotion as he looked at his hands, and stared at the hospital gown. Kairi laughed nervously.

"I didn't know if you'd be okay if I took you to my house, so I decided to take you to the hospital. It seems that you're fine, and you'll be out of here in three days."

The boy nodded, and his head fell back against the headboard of the bed. Kairi believed he was awake, and she cleared her throat.

"So, I'm Kairi. And what's your name?"

"My name…?" The boy mumbled.

"Yeah."

He fell into deep thought before looking up at her and answered in a drawling voice. "My name… is… Yuu…"

"Yuu…?" Kairi repeated the foreign word. "That's quite the strangest name I've ever heard."

The strange boy gave her a questioning look, and she chuckled nervously, not wishing to offend him. At least he had some emotion.

"I… guess it's strange…" Yuu murmured quietly, his voice faltering at each end of a sentence. "I've never really remembered how I got that name anyway…"

"Oh…" Kairi sighed.

The young Princess of Heart began a long round of questions for the boy, which was usually answered with small hesitant replies or silence. Yuu seemed to be very unknowledgeable of many words, much to her surprise. But it was justified. This boy did wash upon the shore and probably bumped his head along the way.

"You know…" Kairi smiled. "Since you are a little kid, I actually brought something for you."

Yuu tilted his head in confusion and watched carefully as the redhead dug into the bottom of her backpack and procured a rather beaten book. He gave her another skeptical look, and she laughed.

"It's a picture book," She said. "My dad used to read it to me when I was ten."

Yuu peered at the cover and saw a strange spherical creature with pink and purple scales and beady eyes with eyelashes, and he noticed full round lips. He cowered at the sight of it, and pulled the sheets of his bed closer to his body.

"It's… not about… girly stuff… is it?" Yuu said quietly. "Like… makeup… and… lipstick?"

Kairi held back the urge to keel over laughing, and she shook her head.

"It's nothing like that. This one's about a fish that lived in the sea."

"Fish…?" Yuu muttered. "What… is… a 'fish…?'"

She placed the book on his lap. She pulled the chair closer so she could see what he was reading. Yuu fiddled with the pages, turning it over and over in his small palms. Kairi then took a hold of one flap, and turned it over. The boy then saw a painting of many strange sea plants and very unique fish swimming about. Then he saw words. They were slightly hard to read, but he could somehow get it.

"Do I… read these…?" He turned to Kairi, who nodded in return.

"I'll read with you if you need help," She pointed at the first sentence. "Shall we begin?"

* * *

"K-Krory? You're standing in front of the door…"

Said man nearly jumped in fright, and he stepped aside for a woman with wavy brown hair and dark circles around her eyes. He concluded that she went back to her under-sleeping habits again… Marie wouldn't want to hear that… if he was awake… that is…

"S-Sorry… Miranda…" He muttered and the woman pulled a weak smile before closing the door behind her. Krory hobbled into the bedroom and slouched upon the small bench in front of the dresser.

It had only been two days since he heard the major raid on Headquarters. He and Miranda were able to meet up in this town in Italy, with a few Finders who were frightened to the bone about the recent major battle with Noah and Exorcists. Timothy, the little boy who had recently become Exorcist, had been found, too, and he was recuperating in the room next door.

Krory was able to pick up a few things from Komui: Kanda found Alma, Alma attacked everyone, Kanda stabbed Allen, Allen turned into the 14th for a moment, and then sent Kanda and Alma someplace.

Speaking of which, this city was Turin… And if he remembered correctly… this was quite close to the old city where Allen and Kanda went on their first mission together. It was Allen's first mission as an Exorcist under the Black Order, too. The name of the city… Mater… was it?

He banged his head on the table in frustration. All he could do was think about the past and not think of the future. But with a situation like this, what could he think about? Destruction? Peril? Tragedy? He's heard a lot of the Exorcists have gotten injured, and he had yet to tell Miranda that Marie was comatose and nearly lost another finger. He shouldn't. She'd just go ballistic again.

All of his friends were gone. Kanda was dead. Lavi was probably kidnapped with Bookman by Noah. Lenalee and Link were missing, along with Allen, who was imprisoned by Central's orders, but had gone missing as well. Chaoji was gravely ill with an unknown sickness. All the Generals were unreachable. It's all hopeless, and he'd wish to think less about it all.

Then again, he was one of the fortunate ones to still be in contact with the Order, along with Miranda and Timothy, and that was it. He moped for another hour, when he heard a commotion of footsteps and a surprised shriek from Miranda. Immediately he sprang from his bench and wrenched open the door, only to see Miranda gasping for breath.

"Miranda, what's the matter?" He knelt down to help her up. She had to take several glasses of water before calming down. Her face was as pale as a ghost, not as if she could get any paler than she had originally been.

"I saw… a duck!"

Krory raised an eyebrow. Now she was hallucinating…?

"What duck?"

"A walking and talking duck in a costume!" She cried. "You've got to believe me! There's a walking talking duck outside the hotel with a some strange people!"

**A/N:**_ I think this is quite sloppy in some parts... weep.._

_Poor Kanda is officially dead... well... er, not really. And I thought the idea of Sora not knowing how to put on that bow tie that Allen wears was random, but it was fun while it lasted. Yes, there will be ANGST! and Neah is some strange type of good (every DGM story I write involves Neah being a good guy, what's going on?). And yay! Krory, Miranda, and Tim will get bigger roles! Funny thing that I've forgtten to write about was Timcampy... Probably because he's too... big... to carry around now... ehehehe... And I was thinking of a sequel to this, which involves Sora going to another world, and I have yet to sort out which of the following worlds will he visit. This is the basic list:_

_- Fullmetal Alchemist_

_- Reborn!_

_- Bleach_

_- Black Rock Shooter (I srsly don't know how that will work)_

_- Phoenix Wright (don't know about that, either)_

_- Psyren (haven't read it in a while, so that's debatable)_

_- The Secret Saturdays (I'll probably age up the main character, so that he'll be around Sora's age)_

_- Vocaloid (This will be a very original one, I suppose, minus the characters and the singing)_

_I'll think of more things to list, because I'll be setting up a poll so you decide where he'll go next._


End file.
